Swimming Pretty in the Glass-Half-Full 2012: Day 18 (Wednesday 18 January) - Farewell Fido

Today I said my final goodbyes to my car.

I know that those of you less sentimentally inclined might think it odd, but I am an emotional being, and while material things per se don't matter so much, it's what they're linked to, have become a part of, that matters greatly to me.

My car wasn't just a car. It was the vehicle I drove myself to and from FedEx in for years. That I bought shiny new one Saturday morning only to have to use it Saturday afternoon to clear as much as I could out of my room at a friend's place when their marriage broke up. It's how I collected multiple people from the airport, including dear friends like Kerry and Jason, and in which I dropped them back there bidding them sad farewells. It's the car in which Kerry and I belted out, and recorded on my iPhone mind you, Lipstick by Jedward at the 2011 Eurovision in the rooftop car park of Marrickville Metro. And it's where my gorgeous guy and I had lots of lovely chats we drove to and from just about everywhere.

Fido wasn't just a car. He was how my life happened in lots of ways, and while it's quite possible I can survive without a car for a while thanks to GoGet and public transport, I will miss the places my car could take me. I will miss jumping in the car, thinking for the 1000th time that I should have cleaned him, and wondering if today is the day I should removed my 90s era Powermac from the boot. I will miss having a car that ran well, didn't cost me a fortune (except at registration time and frankly I will be happy to have that $2000 back in the kitty) and was mine. It surprised me how much I liked my car. I didn't think I did really since I am not a car person really, but when it was taken from me, I suddenly missed it terribly and realised I liked it far more than I'd realised.

I am glad then that I got to say goodbye to Fido today. I had been told he'd already been taken to Milperra to be pulped but when I arrived at the assessment centre in Alexandria, he was still there and I was so happy! It made seem bizarre to those less sentimental than me, but it meant a lot to say goodbye to my car.  I thanked him for all the lovely memories, took some final photos including of me in the car, took one last look and walked away.

Goodbye Fido. It guts me that I had to choose a write off payment over you but I had to make the best of a nasty situation and sadly that involved letting my car go.

I am sorry it had to end this way.

This was supposed to be a smile. I am not sure what it is exactly.